Monthly Archives: April 2015

Most people like a good deal, so it’s quite natural to assume that the company that charges the least for a service will maximize your profit. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The agent you choose to sell your home could cost you thousands.

This is the time of year when locals who have been swamped all season long begin to breathe and reflect on their housing situation. They ask questions like, has the market value on our home gone up? Could we afford to move into a bigger home, downsize to a smaller home, or move on the water?

The first thing people want to know is what is my home worth? The second is how much will it cost to sell and how much will I walk away from? The answers to these questions help answer the next question, where could we go and how much will that cost?

A good Realtor can help. Sometimes when people call our office the first question they ask is how much do you charge? If I wasn’t in this business it’d probably be the first question I’d ask too.

Since I am, I want to give an insiders point of view that will help prospective sellers. Given what I know, this should be the last question asked.

Proper pricing is important. You want to choose a Realtor who understands the market and can properly guide you so you’re working in reality. If your whole exercise in exploring a move is based on fantasy, you’ve wasted a lot of time and inconvenience.

Secondly, it doesn’t so much matter what the listing agent charges. It matters how much you net out at the closing. I tell people if I charged 20% commission but got my sellers 30% more than any other agent could, would that fee seem high? The answer is no, it’d be a bargain. The truth is we don’t charge 20% and we don’t get 30% more than the average agent.

However, we do sell our listings for more than the average agent. Some agents out there may charge less than other agents. The beauty is there is no set rate by law, and that’s a good thing. You’re free to choose who can put the most money in your pocket at closing, and that’s typically an experienced agent who does a lot of marketing and has excellent negotiating skills. The kind of negotiating skills that comes from thousands of transactions. Some agents only sell a few homes per year, so ask to see their track record.

Also ask to see their marketing. Owners assume that all newspaper ads are the same. Look at the frequency, and the size of your home in the ad. If you need a magnifying glass, chances are the buyer will to and won’t see it.

Is your property aggressively marketed online too? Would you know the difference? Sure, all Realtors will tell you your home will be marketed online, but what if there were some key differences the agent didn’t tell you about? What if the agent doesn’t really know and just repeats what the company tells them?

It pays to call someone who really does know. Selling your home for less than you could is like a hidden tax. You’ll never know what could have been. And how will you know you’re getting the best deal on your next home?

A great agent can help. If you’re considering making a move, call us at 239-489-4042 and sit down with us and we’ll guide you through all of it. Calling the wrong agent could cost you thousands. It could cost you the sale entirely and cause you to miss your dream home.

The Agent You Choose to Sell Your Home Could Cost You Thousands

You can get a ballpark value on our website www.Topagent.com but keep in mind that’s only a ballpark. We’d prefer to come out and see your home and go over the details for better accuracy. Not every agent in our company or in town works the way we do. Always Call the Ellis Team at RE/MAX 239-489-4042

Don’t forget April is the Bella Casa Luxury Condo Closeout Event. Call to get a great deal and be sure to check out the resort style pool, tennis court, clubhouse. Best of all Condo fees are only $220/mo and no CDD

Circle the date. April 21, 2015 things are going to change in a significant way. These are the words directly from Google. We’re talking about Mobilegeddon, and whether you’re a real estate agent, business owner, or consumer, you will be affected on April 21. So we ask the question, is SW Florida ready for mobilegeddon?

Since 2013 I’ve been speaking to agents nationwide about the importance of having a mobile friendly website. Google has stated how important mobile is and they do not want to rank websites high if the consumer doesn’t have a good experience on their mobile device when they get there.

Last year we told readers that consumers were spending more time on the web from their mobile then they were on their desktop computer. ComScore data proves this out, and many webmasters who view their logs will tell you mobile is more popular now than desktop.

The problem is, many websites are not setup to handle mobile visitors properly. Portent recently crawled 25,000 sites and found that 40% of those sites were not mobile friendly.

If you’re on your mobile device you can do a search in Google and it will return results. It will say if the results are mobile friendly, but you better pay attention to those results. The companies you see today may not be the same companies you see on April 21. If they do not have the mobile friendly seal of approval from Google, they are going to drop out of the search results. This is significant.

Mobilegeddon will be a larger algorithm change than either the Panda or Penguin updates. If this is all Greek to you, it’s OK. Consumers don’t need to know all the details, but local businesses do.

Consumers who are hiring a real estate agent should ask questions about the agent’s web presence and whether it’s mobile friendly. The public tends to think all agents are the same and all advertising is the same.

I can assure you all agents do not have the same negotiating skills, nor do they have the same marketing skills. Pretty soon we’re going to find out which agents win in the online marketing business.

If you’re a buyer or seller, Mobilegeddon is going to matter to you. The buyers will be directed to sites that are mobile friendly. According to one site buyers are 53% more likely to purchase from mobile while they are shopping.

Imagine buyers driving around looking at neighborhoods. When they see a neighborhood or sign they like, do you think they write it down to pull up later or do they inquire on their Smartphone? The answer is they are not waiting.

The Ellis Team is receiving many mobile leads per week. The registration form even says Mobile lead. We’re receiving phone calls directly from the online information as well.

Buyers today want immediate information. They go on Smartphones first. If they call, they don’t want voicemail. They want to talk to a live person. They can get general info online in an instant, so your systems better be designed to answer that call when the buyer is ready. If the agent isn’t ready when the buyer is, they’ll find another agent. Statistics show buyers and sellers work with the first person they talk to 70% of the time.

If you’re a seller, you’ll want to list with an agent who’s ready for Mobilegeddon and has systems and people to answer the phone. If you miss either step, you miss the buyer. Buyers want the same thing. They don’t like wasting time, and they want an agent who is up to today’s way of doing business.

Our website is mobile friendly. www.Topagent,com You can search for homes, find out your home’s value, ready weekly articles, and get market statistics on your desktop, tablet, or Smartphone. Do some searches on your Smartphone this weekend, then try again on April 21st. What you see may be different.

You can call us at 239-489-4042

Bella Casa Luxury Condominiums Fort Myers, FL

Don’t forget April is the Bella Casa Luxury Condo Closeout Event. Call to get a great deal and be sure to check out the resort style pool, tennis court, clubhouse. Best of all Condo fees are only $220/mo and no CDD

Traffic on the roads has slowed down in town, but traffic in the real estate community hasn’t. We’ve listed some homes and had contracts on them in short time. So we asked the question, did the dates for season change this year?

Last week two deals fells out and I was kind of mad because the seller had taken their home off the market for 2-3 weeks in March only to have a buyer decide they’re not buying in Lee County. The sellers had just given up most of March for a flaky buyer.

The good news is within a few days we found a cash buyer with another cash buyer in waiting and the property will close near the original closing date so the seller is happy. I’ve spoken with several real estate agents who tell similar stories and they feel the buyers are still engaged and looking.

I decided to delve into the pending sales statistics to see if what I’m seeing is true overall, and the answer looks to be it is. As I’ve stated before agents tend to judge the market by how their own deals are going rather than looking big picture.

I looked at new pending sales in February which is the latest data released and they were up 21% this year, as you can see from the chart. This has been a positive trend dating back to September 2014.

Did the Dates for Season Change This Year?

Almost every statistical category has improved over last year, from median days on market, percent of list price received, pending inventory, active listings, and month’s supply of inventory.

I’m not sure you can call a 6.1% decrease in active listings an improvement because we need more, but it does signal we’re in a great market for sellers.

Because February data doesn’t always tell the story in April I decided to search the MLS for pending sales right now. This week it came back at 2,531 pending listings, up from 2,386 back in February.

I’m thankful for all the pending sales we have right now, but I’m eve more thankful for the two that just sold again in April after having their deal fall out. That is a wonderful sign.

We have several new construction deals in place too as some buyers just could not find what they were looking for in the resale market. Sometimes it just doesn’t exist. Buyers are surprised to find that when they enter their search criteria sometimes there is only 3-4 matches. Sometimes it’s zero.

This is why it’s important to have your finances in order so when you spot that house that matches your criteria you’re in a position to pounce. Other buyers just like you are also waiting for that home to hit the market. You cannot assume you are the only buyer.

It’s kind of like dating on one of those Internet dating sites. When a new attractive person enters the site they’re going to get immediate interest. In real estate, the best homes go fast and the one’s that sit there are the unattractive and overpriced homes.

Just like dating, there’s a match for everyone, you just have to play in your league. If you’re an overweight balding middle age man that drinks beer and sits on the couch all day you’re probably not going to attract that active in-shape 25 year old model. She’s going to end up with someone in her league, not yours.

In real estate, all homes will find a buyer at the right price. Even if the home is unattractive someone will buy it. You just have to price it in the right league, or get off the couch and work on it. When price meets value, a home will sell.

Don’t wait when you see your home come on the market. Feel free to search the MLS at www.Topagent.com

If you’re selling, call an experienced match maker who can help you play in your league. We’ll get your home sold and you’ll be on your way to having fun. 239-489-4042

Call us to sell your home. 239-489-4042

Bella Casa Luxury Condominiums Fort Myers, FL

Don’t forget April is the Bella Casa Luxury Condo Closeout Event. Call to get a great deal and be sure to check out the resort style pool, tennis court, clubhouse. Best of all Condo fees are only $220/mo and no CDD

Nationally I’ve been reading stories about writers concern there may be another housing bubble forming. Anytime prices rise people wonder when it will peak, and anytime prices fall people wonder when it will bottom. It’s just human nature. So the question is, has the SW Florida real estate market run out of stem?

Latest national statistics released this week show pending sales up 3.1% despite colder weather up North. With an improving economy and still historic low interest rates it would be hard to argue the market could cool off.

Another report suggests home prices are outpacing wages which could damper prices. This is true. Sometimes home prices rise faster on low supply, and when this rise outpaces wages eventually this can slow price growth until wages catch back up. It’s not totally a supply/demand market as other economic forces will limit prices beyond simply supply.

As you can see from the attached chart, locally our prices have more than doubled in the past 4 years. SW Florida has been on a good run, so naturally people may wonder if there is a bubble forming locally as well.

The good news is we don’t think so. Are 25% price gains year after year sustainable? That answer is no. February 2015 median sales prices were up 6.5% over 2014. That is sustainable. Traditionally average annual price gains have been 3-5%.

It’s quite natural our prices have doubled because really they fell too far and too fast in the bust. That was an over-reaction due to a banking crisis and banks dumping assets on the market.

Banks are lending again and they no longer have the properties to dump on the market. Prices fell below replacement cost which means they were artificially too low. We think prices are back to a healthy balance between replacement value, supply, demand, and economic conditions.

The future looks better for SW Florida than does the rest of the country. The US economy is growing again and that’s good news for everyone but it isn’t growing at the pace it should be. By all accounts Florida is, and SW Florida is leading the way.

We have below state and national unemployment averages. Our weather and lifestyle is an alluring attraction to employers and employees alike.

Home building is back which will add jobs to our area. All signs point to a good economic climate in Florida for the foreseeable future. The prognosis may be for measured, sustainable gains which are always preferable.

Season was busy. Have you noticed traffic has lightened up substantially this past week? We’ll be watching March sales numbers when they’re released later in April. We think they’ll be pretty decent.

All eyes locally turn to the next few months. We’ll be watching pending sales in April and May and this will give us a pretty god sign of what 2015 will bring. So far it’s been a good season, but we have noticed a few buyers showing indifference this year compared to years past. This is always the case, but there is a general feeling amongst some buyers that the big gains are over and our market is back to fully priced.

Nobody is afraid prices could go backwards, but they’re not afraid prices will be 50% higher in 2 years either. It’s causing pause and normalcy, even in a low inventory market.

If you’re a seller and you’ve been waiting, now may be a good time to sell. Our prices are up and we don’t have inventory, Yet! That could change one day when our market flattens out, whenever that day is. We don’t have that crystal ball. We just feel it’s more likely to flatten than go up or down substantially. Better yet, let’s just keep the truck rolling at normal sustainable gains and call it a day!

Call us to sell your home. 239-489-4042 Feel free to search the MLS at www.Topagent.com

Bella Casa Luxury Condominiums Fort Myers, FL

Don’t forget April is the Bella Casa Luxury Condo Closeout Event. Call to get a great deal and be sure to check out the resort style pool, tennis court, clubhouse. Best of all Condo fees are only $220/mo and no CDD